This invention relates generally to electrical splice connectors and more particularly to such connectors that are useful in gas turbine engines.
A gas turbine engine includes a compressor that provides pressurized air to a combustion section where the pressurized air is mixed with fuel and ignited for generating hot combustion gases. These gases flow downstream to a multi-stage turbine. Each turbine stage includes a plurality of circumferentially spaced apart blades or buckets extending radially outwardly from a wheel that is fastened to a shaft for rotation about the centerline axis of the engine. The hot gases expand against the turbine buckets causing the wheel to rotate. This in turn rotates the shaft that is connected to the compressor and may be also connected to load equipment such as an electric generator or a propeller. Thus, the turbine extracts energy from the hot gases to drive the compressor and provide useful work such as generating electricity or propelling an aircraft in flight.
It is well known that the efficiency of gas turbine engines can be increased by raising the turbine operating temperature. As operating temperatures are increased, the thermal limits of certain engine components, such as the turbine buckets, may be exceeded, resulting in reduced service life or even material failure. In addition, the increased thermal expansion and contraction of these components adversely affects clearances and their interfitting relationship with other components. Thus, it is common to monitor the temperature of turbine buckets during engine operation to assure that they do not exceed their maximum rated temperature for an appreciable period of time.
One approach to monitoring turbine bucket conditions is to place devices, such as thermocouples and strain gauges, directly onto the bucket and then connect the devices to the appropriate monitoring equipment. Typically, the measuring device with a lead cable is first attached to the turbine bucket, and the lead cable is then spliced to another cable that is connected to the monitoring equipment after the bucket has been mounted to the wheel. However, this splice must be completed on the factory floor in a confined space between turbine wheels because the buckets are not mounted onto the wheels until after the wheels are stacked onto the turbine rotor. Because of the confined space, the conventional splicing technique of twisting and tack welding corresponding wires together is very difficult to perform. Accordingly, there exists a need for a splice connector that would facilitate splicing the bucket instrumentation cables.